Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-10-24
News by Telegraph
FROM ALL QUARTERS.
WAR IN THE LABOR CAMP
Leading Knights Bolt The
Order.
MOB IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Exciting Scene At A League
Meeting.
"A BRAVE FILIBUSTER'S END.
The Woes Of A Stranded
Millionaire.
REVOLT AGAINST PowDERLy.

An Appeal to the Order to Reor-
| ganize.
CHICAGO, Oct. 23.-The dissenters from
the action taken at the Minneapolis conven-
ton have declared open war with the execu-
tive board of the knights of Labor and have
issued their declaration of Independence. On
returning from the convention about thirty
five delegates representing thirteen States
stopped in Chicago and determined to bring
about a reorganization of the order. They
elected provisional committee of five mem
bers, of which Charles f. Seib was made
| secretary A long communication was draft
ed at Secretary Seib's Office to-day and will
be forwarded tomorrow in circular form to
the knights of Labor all over the country.
The following is the communications
HEADQUARTERS PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE,
| CHARLES F. SEIB, SECRETARY,
| 100 EAST WASHINGTON STREET,
| CHICAGO, Oct %, 1885.
To the rank and file of the order of Knights
of Labor:
Indignant at the usurpation of power and
the gross violation of the laws of our order
| by those high in authority, disguised with
those whose loyalty to the present ring has
been gained by the pickings they receive as a
| reward for their services, incensed at the
fawning sycophants who crawl on their knees
| in slavish submission to the most corrupt
| the most hypocritical, the most autocratic
and tyrannical man that ever has controlled
any labor organization, I'VE therefore affirm the
| motto of our order that "when bad men
combine the good must associate,
else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied
sacrifice in contemplate struggle" We as
| sert the hour has come when as honest men
and women we declare ourselves Independent
| of those who have abused the confidence re-
| posed in them by our order.
| Our duty to the workingmen and women
demands that we at once reorganize the order
of the knights of Labor on basis which will
| secure the autonomy of the trades and the
sovereignty of the districts in all pertaining
to their trade and local affairs; and to prevent
it from being used in the future as machine
| to fill the Golfers of designing and unscrupu-
lous men, as it is by those now in power.
| We affirm the following to be the reasons
| that have compelled this serious action on
our part:
| 1. The general Office has become luxuri-
| Gus haunt for men whose chief aim is to ben
! eft self pecuniarily and otherwise and is no
| longer the Jerusalem of the humble and hon
| est Knight.
| 2. There has been for more than a year
! beginning prior to the Richmond SESSION. an
| understanding which, for lack of a better
/ word, we will call conspiracy for the pur-
pose of holding the salaried positions, elective
and appointive, in aud under the general as,
sembly.
| 3, This conspiracy has used the secret
channels and funds of the order to manufac
| ture sentiment for certain members and
| against others. Certain persons some
| times called general lecturers" general
| organizers" general instructors" and gen
| eral-many- other-things have been paid
| extravaganza sums both as wages and expenses
| when their chief work was to "fx" certain
| districts The lobbyists of railroad corpora
| tions would turn green with envy did they
| know the superlative excellence attained by
| these bloodsuckers of the Knights of Labor.
| T. Organizers commissions have been re-
| fused to members who were known to dis
| agree with the methods of the ring, though
| the applications were endorsed by the district
| assembly to which the applicant belonged
and commissions have been recalled because
of the refusal of the holders to fall down and
worship the powers that be.
5. District and local assemblies have been
suspended or expelled and deprived of
voice in the general assembly because they
| were known as opponents to the policy OF the
conspiratoIs.
6. Conspiracies have been Matched against
dissenting members by the aid of corrupt
| tools in the district assemblies or local as
sembli4 or both of such members.
T. The records of the general Office have been
| fixed and doctored SO as to rule out or ad-
nit, as the case might be, general assembly
representatives.
s. Men have been admitted delegates to
| the general assembly who clearly had no
constitutional right to seats, while others
| have been refused upon techniealities con-
tra1y to precedent and established customs.
| In all cases the test was for or against the
| ring
g. (a) Many thousands of dollars of the or
der's funds have been illegally expended
| frequently against the earnest protests of
| honest and law-abiding members. (b) Ex-
travagant hotel bills contracted by the fam.
| lilies Of general officers have been paid out of
the orders funds, as have fam
| lily laundry and bar bills. (c) Funds
have been donated and loaned to
| officers and their friends for their personal
use. (d) General Officers, organizers and
lecturers have not only been pald hoeIaI
salaries and allowed heavy expenses from the
general treasury, but have charged additional
| sums to the locals and districts.
| TO- Honest men devoted to the cause of
| labor have been made scapegoats of the blum
dering high officials driven in disgrace from
| the movement.
H. Efforts made by assemblies to better
their condition have been strangled by the
ring, it is charity to say for no meaner reason
than in response to the clamor of the common
| enemy of labor.
| 12. The boycott has been used to injure
labor press, union establishments and the
| products of Knights of Labor and union labor
for the sole purpose of downing working
men and women who could not be used by
| the conspirators.
10. Persons who were not members of the
order have been provided for personal rea-
SONS with lucrative positions in the general
Office.
IA The constitution has bsen altered in an
illegal manner; it has been tempered with
and measures inimical to the interests of the
order at large have been railroaded into what
is called claw"
TX War wae bas been waped by the ad-
ministration ring against trades unions and
trades districts The motto of the ring has
been: "Down with trades districts; exter-
inmate the trades unions" This, IN spite of
our obligation, "to extend helping hand to
all branches of honest toll.
16. Nearly every important strike or lock-
out in which the general officers interfered
was lost.
II. AS result of the laundering, wishy
washy, incompetent and stupidity arbitrary
| policy, the membership of the order has de-
| creased 217 914 members in one year.
1S, In fspite of the decrease of member
ship thew have increased the annual expendi-
lures of the general officers to half a million
dollars.
10: There was no itemized account of re.
ceipts and expenditures issued either quar-
terly, as had formerly been the custom, or
to the general assembly
20. In the general assembly arguments
were met by buncombe, gag law was reduced
| to q system by the ruSo VI tno pioN1ous quSs-
ton: Outrageous decisions rendered; appeals
and protests ignored, all for the purpose of
covering up the rascality of those in power.
All local and district assemblies in accord
with the above declaration or desiring infor-
nation will please address
CHARLES It. SEIB,
, Secretary of the provisional COMMITTEES.
! Two Brothers Killed by an Explosion.
New York, Oct. 23.-As the steam launch
Mary, which was lying at the foot of One
Hundred and Sixteenth street, was being
made ready this afternoon to go into winter
quarters at Oak Point her boiler blew up,
instantly killing John and Patrick Cunning
ham, brothers. James Cunningham, another
!: brother, was struck by a piece OF the boiler
and severely injured. Carl Schundtke, part
9 ounar of Aha launch was blown into the